drew03cmc

I had the spinning rod out and caught one 13" rainbow on a black/gold 1/16 Panther Martin. I fished over an hour and had two bites, caught one.

Well, some of those creeks aren't very accessible. We could try and wade a few of them. They will all hold some sunfish species and maybe the rogue walleye.

I am going to try to be at Coot Lake between 0800 and 0830 to see if I can't scare up some trout. If that doesn't work, I might go fish the spillway at Longview. Come on by and say hello. I will be the young guy in the blue Carhartt and tan Mizzou hat.

The Blue is a sand/mud bottom, very soft. It is wadable, and there are nice sized largemouth bass in the river. The drum will take crankbaits and run with them as well.

Could you imagine the smallmouth fishery it could produce?

Looks like fun....

Not a bad school of thought on the matter. I have seen some crazy colored crawdads in the wild. I have seen them in blue, purple, BRIGHT orange, brown, green and almost white. It is insane that these colors are found in something so ugly. I agree, I prefer black flakes over the red or blue stuff, and my purchases show this.

Why do you hate orange bellies? I don't think I own a bait with an orange belly, but I am just curious. Also, the colors of the flakes don't matter? I try to get baits that do not have flakes or have natural colored flakes like black or maybe white. Maybe the black craws I saw yesterday with red flakes are worth the buy...

Al has been promoting his theory as gospel about the Diversion Channel causing the spotted bass increase. He follows that by saying that he caught 3 hybrids in the 70s, and then says that spotted bass didn't begin invading until the 80s. I am sorry, there is a gap there, in which the spots were there already, as is evident by the hybrids. They don't just appear. Smallmouth x smallmouth does not produce meanmouth. Sorry. That is not the way genetics would work in that situation. I can see the possibility of his theory, but everyone else is wrong. Nothing else holds water if it came from someone on the other side of the Ozarks, or someone who does not take what is said as gospel.

I only carry four lures to speak of. Granted, they are in various colors, but only four lures. I carry: Rebel Craws in Stream and Ditch 1/8oz Rooster Tails in white, black and yellow 2.5" soft plastic craws in green pumpkin and crawdad colors Rapala F05 original in silver and gold. For the craws I use 1/16 and 1/8oz ball jigheads. That is my simple lure selection and I can cover the surface (Rooster Tail) to the bottom (soft craws). I carry these lures when I am stream fishing for largemouth as well and have caught everything from 4" bluegill to 18" largemouth on them. I am anxious to get on the water and catch some bass this spring!

Well, we agree on some stuff apparently, so you won't be hearing me say those words any time soon. Cell phones are a bad idea on the river. Stream access laws are often convoluted, especially in Kansas (effin commies) and well, it is obvious that mountain lions are present and are probably capable of reproducing by now. Did I cover a few of the bases well enough?

OB, never once did I say native. I said there was a small population there, which would explain the hybrids Al was catching. Sampling is not an exact science. You can never sample EVERY fish in a body of water. You get a "representative" sample, which CAN exclude small or almost non-existent species due to a low population density. I have my views and the "experts" as they call themselves have theirs. Oh well, nothing has changed.

OB, where did the hybrids come from, if not from interbreeding?

I am not a proponent of TSTSNBM. I do not believe in it, it is all c**lical. Anyway, if a species had a small foothold in a body of water and only needed a minor change in one thing to truly explode, it is possible. I am simply suggesting that there may have been a very small, nearly insignificant population of spotted bass in the lower reaches of these streams. There aren't hybrids of two species if there aren't two species present in the first place, correct?

Anything to spin the "facts" your way, rather than accept the fact that a small population of spotted bass has lived in your streams MUCH longer than you believe. The facts appear to be that there has been interbreeding for far longer than you believe and if it is so, your Diversion Channel theory has to be reconsidered. It might have happened in very small scale, but it was happening. You mention a major ecological change did not happen to coincide with the spotted bass "invasion", but a minor one, such as the average temperature in the stream rising a half degree or so, COULD trigger more successful spawning and an explosion in the spotted bass population.

Al, those three hybrids didn't just miraculously appear. There was obviously interbreeding occurring in the 70s, albeit in low numbers. The collections do not sample the entire population of fish on the river, they get a prescribed "sample size" and go from there. To look at these collections and assume there is no way there are a few dozen spotted bass among the thousands of smallmouth is a bit naive.

I am feeling the love here...now, join me... Kum-bi-yah, my... Fine don't.

Lamson Konic is in the same price range and has the superior drag system to both of the others.

Yep. Where they are the only native black bass, they are king dick normally and as such they can do what they want, when they want and how they want. Where they are a bit overpopulated as they are in the eastern Ozarks apparently, they are opportunistic. If they pass on this crayfish, there might not be another one for awhile.

Al, the uppermost bolded statement just confirms what I have theorized over the past few years about spotted bass. They have always been present, but in very small numbers. Some minor environmental factor made the fish able to thrive in waters where they were marginal at best. I find it hard to believe that the upper Meramec might be too big with too much current, yet spotted bass do and can live in the Missouri and Mississippi, albeit in small numbers. Aftershock, don't write spotted bass off entirely. They are a fine sport fish and are prettier than largemouth as well as some smallmouth. They give a good account of themselves when hooked as well.

Crappie were probably there before the trout were. The golden rainbows are often stocked as kind of a gimmick. They can be selectively bred in hatcheries, but as Buzz knows, it's not rare to have them stocked in Missouri's White Ribbon waters.

You can access the Little Blue below the dam at Longview, just off of Raytown Rd, first turn north of 109th St. I have NEVER been skunked on that river. Carry and throw some soft plastics and some Rebel 77 size craws.

I have waded the Little Blue below Longview. It fishes well on low water. There have been days I had hundred fish days on bluegill up to 12", green sunfish to 9", largemouth to 2 pounds and small drum. It can fish well, and the water isn't too dirty in that portion of the river. Closer to Independence and the Missouri, it is a little funkier, but nothing waders can't keep you from. I am interested in the creeks on JAR as well. Matt, you fished on the Conservation land? There are fish in the creek then, correct?

I have been saying just that for years on this forum OTF. You used to fight me tooth and nail to keep the trout in the Ozarks, but I am pleased to see you changing your tune in light of the fact that our hatcheries might be getting the axe. I would still like to share a stretch of smallmouth creek with you, even though you're a trout guy by nature Tim, there are a few guys on here that have repeatedly said that our native fisheries deserve the attention the state gives to the trout program. We have lost smallmouth water, some good smallmouth water included, to trout stockings. The waters lost were, on the surface, great smallmouth habitat, but they are marginal trout water and are stocked at such a rate that the smallmouth and sunfish have been forced downstream or out of the stream altogether. I am thinking specifically of Capps Creek from Shoal Creek up to about the bridges. In my opinion, that is good looking brownie water. Maybe, if the hatcheries do have to go on hiatus or belly up altogether, the silver lining might be that smallmouth would eventually move back into these types of waters...I am hopeful that the state will urge Congress to do what is best for the budget.

I did like Ness' summary, but it sounds like absolutely nothing has changed in the last few months.